Urban Edge Properties

Greetings and welcome to the Urban Edge Properties first quarter 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Areeba Ahmed, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Good morning and welcome to Urban Edge Properties' first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Jeff Olson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Mualem, Chief Operating Officer, Mark Langer, Chief Financial Officer, Heather Olberg, General Counsel, Scott Oster, EVP and Head of Leasing, and Andrea Drazen, Chief Accounting Officer. Please note, today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements about the company's views of future events and financial performance. which are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and which the company does not undertake to update. Our actual results, financial condition, and business may differ. Please refer to our filings with the SEC, which are also available on our website, for more information about the company. In our discussion today, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to GAAP results are available in our earnings release and our supplemental disclosure package. At this time, it is my pleasure to introduce our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Olson.

Thank you, Areva, and good morning. We had a great first quarter delivering results that exceeded our internal expectations. We generated FFO as adjusted of $0.36 per share, a 3% increase over the first quarter of last year. Same property net operating income, including redevelopment, increased by 2.8%, primarily due to rent commencements from our signed but not open pipeline. Leasing fundamentals across our portfolio remain strong, reflecting continued demand from retailers seeking well-located, high-quality space. Our shopping centers, primarily anchored by grocers, discounters, off-price retailers, and home improvement stores, along with shops comprised of quick service restaurants, health, fitness, and service uses continue to generate increased traffic. During the quarter, we executed leases totaling 419,000 square feet, including 84,000 square feet of new leases at a strong 52% cash spread. Our leasing pipeline remains robust. and should result in record leasing activity over the coming quarters with leasing spreads expected to exceed 20%. Our signed but not open pipeline remains a meaningful contributor to future growth, representing $22 million of annual gross rent or approximately 7% of current net operating income. This provides us with strong visibility into earnings through 2027. In March, we completed the acquisition of the Village at Bridgewater Commons, a 92,000 square foot shopping center located in Bridgewater, New Jersey for $54 million at a 7.7% cap rate. This property is situated in a highly trafficked corridor within an affluent market. It attracts 2.2 million visitors per year, among the highest for its size. Tenants include Summit Health, Chipotle, Shake Shack, Milburn Deli, Cava, and Starbucks. We structured the acquisition of Bridgewater in an accretive 1031 transaction with the expected sale of a Coles-anchored property in New Jersey. Looking ahead, based on the results we achieved in the first quarter, we increased our 2026 FFO as adjusted guidance by a penny per share on the low end to a new range of $1.48 to $1.52 per share, reflecting 5% growth over 2025 at the midpoint. Urban Edge is well-positioned to continue delivering steady growth, supported by strong fundamentals, our $22 million S&O pipeline, our $157 million redevelopment pipeline, and future acquisitions. I will now turn it over to our Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Muellen.